Noble Sells Rig Quartet To ADES

Offshore drilling company Noble Corporation has wrapped up the sale of four jack-up rigs to a subsidiary of ADES International Holding.

Initially, the two companies reached an agreement in August 2021 for the sale of four jack-ups for $292 million. Noble said that it expected to generate around $285 million in cash from the transaction net of fees, expenses, and the settlement of working capital.

According to the offshore driller, the sale of the four rigs was completed on Wednesday, November 3, 2021.

Ownership of the Noble Roger Lewis, Noble Scott Marks, Noble Joe Knight, and Noble Johnny Whitstine as well as employment of the crews have been transferred and the drilling contracts have been novated to ADES.

Noble will continue to provide certain customary transition support services for a limited period of time.

"We are very pleased to have completed this transaction, which further bolsters our already strong balance sheet, is accretive to our shareholders, and supports our sustainable return of a capital strategy." Robert Eifler, President and CEO of Noble Corporation, said.

"Our crews in the Kingdom have delivered excellent safety and operating performance for many years. I would personally like to thank the Noble employees who will transfer to ADES for their professionalism and dedicated service and wish them continued success," Eifler added.

Noble’s most recent fleet status report, released in June 2021, stated that all four rigs were contracted to Saudi Arabia’s major Saudi Aramco.

The report stated that the Roger Lewis’ deal expires in March 2022, while the deals for the Scott Marks, Joe Knight, and Johnny Whitstine are penned to end in July 2023, October 2022, and April 2022, respectively.

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